Influence of Co-Surfactants to Surfactant-Enhanced Remediation of Diesel-Contaminated Sandy Soil

The effects of selected co-surfactants on diesel removal from sandy soil were studied to increase diesel recovery from the soil by the surfactant-enhanced remediation of diesel-contaminated soil. The capability of co-surfactant for enhancing removal efficiency can be related with the interaction between its structural character and the structural peculiarity of nonionic surfactant. In the case of Tween 80, hexanol showed the great improvement in diesel recovery. Efficiency of diesel recovery decreased as hydrocarbon chain length of cosurfactant decreased. Higher content of hexanol further increased diesel recovery, but there was no significant improvement in the case of butanol and pentanol.